You're So Vain
by kaydeeshay
Summary: When Chad steals Mal's spellbook and Evie accidentally drinks an ego potion, her attitude turns sour. Can Mal convince her friends that something is wrong and get Evie back to the girl they used to know?
1. Cheater, Cheater Strawberry Stealer

**Descendants has taken over my life. When the sequel comes out and I say that I will have been waiting for it since the premiere of the first ended on July 31, 2015, it won't be a lie. Kind of addicted. That being said, I've had this little idea rolling around in my head for a while now. This is probably the first fic of this length that I've ever really completed. The general idea of the story is there, but still lots of editing to do! I feel the first chapter at the very least is ready and good to go. To Allie, Sam, Cassie, and Carrie who I have sent this to, I thank you girls for reading as always. To new readers, I hope you enjoy this.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Descendants.**

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The cafeteria at Auradon Prep was filled with the usual buzz of the students chattering. Evie was gently blowing on her fingernails in an attempt to make her freshly applied coat of nail polish dry faster while Mal was looking through her spellbook in deep concentration.

"Wow, look!" the purple-haired girl exclaimed in surprise, her eyes widening. "How cool is this? Here's a spell to automatically set anything on fire. Talk about pyro power! They literally have a spell and potion for everything in here."

Evie scrunched her nose in uncertainty, but curiosity got the better of her, and she peered over to take a peek in her best friends book. "You sure you should be looking at that stuff, Mal? I thought you were trying to be good. Setting stuff on fire doesn't exactly seem like the type of thing a good person would do."

Mal bit her lip somewhat guiltily, shrugging her shoulders. She closed the book slowly. "What fun is it to be good _all_ the time? Besides, I think I've been doing a pretty decent job."

Evie gasped in delight. "You totally have and I'm so proud of you! I mean, it's been at least two days since you stole that chocolate covered strawberry."

Mal looked up towards the ceiling, shaking her head in remorse. "Curse those things for being so addicting. I did not let my temptation get the better of me today, though," she stated happily, pointing to her strawberry-free lunch tray.

"You might want to hold that thought," Ben whispered as he sneaked up behind Mal, placing his chin on her shoulder while giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Mal jumped, startled by her boyfriend's sudden appearance. Ben started laughing.

"Hey!" Mal cried, her green eyes flashing lightly. "That's not very nice! On two accounts, might I add. First, you scared me and now you're laughing about it! I thought I was the bad one around here."

"Guess your ways are rubbing off on me," he teased. "So sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

Mal shook her head defensively. "Nope."

The sandy haired boy placed a plate in front of her piled high with chocolate covered strawberries. "Not even for these?"

Mal licked her lips and reached for one of the juicy, sweet fruits. Stuffing it into her mouth eagerly, her lips were instantly stained a deep red. "You're forgiven," she assured him through muffled words.

"And to think... you were _this_ close to avoiding your temptation," Ben chuckled, taking a seat beside her.

A look of regret crossed Mal's face. She finished the strawberry she was currently eating and wiped her mouth. When she was done, she placed the stem on the side of the plate with the others, gently pushing them away.

"I was only teasing. What's wrong?"

Mal looked down at the table in shame. "I, um...I kind of stole one a couple of days ago. I didn't mean to! And I was going to pay for it after lunch. Honest! But I was too ashamed to admit I made a mistake. You know me and my pride."

Ben touched her shoulder affectionately. "It's okay," he assured her. "Everybody makes mistakes. You can pay for it today. I'll even come with you to give you that extra boost of courage."

Mal smiled, a warm feeling that was still somewhat unfamiliar to her washing over her entire body. It seemed to happen the most when she was around Ben, and she had to admit she liked it. Other than knowing now that stealing was wrong in general, one of the reasons she was ashamed whenever she messed up was because she was afraid of disappointing him.

Suddenly, a brunette boy took a seat by Evie. "I have two tests today that I've barely studied for due to band, a ten page paper that I'm only half done with due tomorrow, and a presentation to prepare for by the end of the week. I don't seem stressed, do I? I'm not stressed. Needless to say I am stressed."

Evie laughed sympathetically, taking Doug's right hand in hers. "Aw, Doug. You'll be fine! You know you're super smart."

"Did I hear the word stressed?" Jane interrupted, pulling up a seat beside Doug. "Because I am being forced to audition for the school play against my will. I totally know the state of stressed. I would love to have someone to relate to right now."

Doug and Jane both continued to vent about their stress as Evie attempted to calm both of them down.

Jay walked up to the table, bumping into Audrey, who did not have her undivided attention on where she was going. She was on her cell phone posting a status about what time cheer practice was that day.

"Sorry!" Jay apologized as the phone flew out of Audrey's hands. He bent down to pick it up, checked to make sure that it wasn't damaged, and handed it back to the petite brunette.

It was then that they noticed the chaos. Their eyes darted back and forth at the dual conversations going on.

"Are you getting anything out of this?" Audrey asked him over the noise.

Jay shrugged. "Something about a stealing strawberry being in a play but it can't participate and it feels guilty because it has too much homework."

The two of them sat down in front of their friends, giving them a second to notice that they were there. No such luck.

"Hey, guys. How's it going?" Jay finally spoke up; Mal kept talking to Ben like they were the only two in the room.

"Jane, why are you being forced to audtion for the play?" Audrey questioned her friend; Jane continued to talk to Doug, making Audrey feel completely invisible.

Jay turned to Audrey, giving her an expression of defeat. Suddenly, a smirk formed across his lips, signaling that he had gotten an idea. He raised his fingers to his lips, letting out a loud whistle.

Mal, Ben, Evie, Doug, and Jane all turned to Jay. None of them seemed fazed by the whistle. "WHAT!?"

"We've been sitting here for, like, the past ten minutes trying to get your attention." Audrey pressed.

"Oh, we're so sorry that all of our attention was not completely focused on you, princess." Mal stated somewhat icily. "Next time we'll try to be a bit more compassionate. Forgive us for forgetting for a second that the world revolves around you."

"Ha, ha. Very funny," Audrey replied, giving the violet-headed girl a sneer. "You know, this whole being good thing isn't exactly working out for you. And for the record, I was talking to _Jane."_

"Now, now. Don't fight in front of Dude!" Carlos whispered as he walked up to the table. "It makes him nervous. Who's a good boy?"

The pace of the light brown dog's tail picked up as he gave Carlos a light lick on the cheek. Carlos smiled and patted the dogs head affectionately. "What's going on?"

"Everyone was basically ignoring us when Audrey and I walked up." Jay informed him. "We were trying to figure out why."

"Mal is having a meltdown because she stole a strawberry the other day," Ben explained.

"Told you the whole being good thing wasn't working out for you," Audrey commented snidely, giving Mal another glare.

"I'm having a meltdown because I have too much homework," Doug confessed.

"And I'm having a meltdown because I'm being forced to audition for the school play," Jane squeaked, clutching her stomach nervously.

"Yeah, and why is that?" Audrey asked again. "You shouldn't be forced to do something you don't want to do."

"Mother thinks I'm way too shy. She says this will, and I quote, 'let my inner star shine.' I don't have an inner star. People like me do not have an inner star! I'll pass out. I'm almost certain of it."

Mal pursed her lips in thought. "I'd try not to worry too much about it, Jane. Just because you're auditioning doesn't mean you'll get the part. Get through the audition as best you can and the rest will be history," she told her friend, waving her hand in the air as she had just solved every problem in the world.

Evie's gaze rapidly darted across the room. She crinkled her nose in distaste and let out a scoff. "Ugh, here comes King Arthur's gift to the world. Or so he thinks..."

Chad Charming reached the table, smoothly spreading his arm across Evie's shoulders. "So, my blue-haired beauty... you want to catch a movie this weekend? I know you do. Problem is I have about forty-five assignments due. Think you could handle it?" He flashed her his famous smile, but the sparkling pearly whites that used to leave her hypnotized now left her nauseous.

"Ew, no!" Evie proclaimed, moving Chad's arm from across her shoulder, repulsed. "Been there, done that. I learned my lesson. To be honest, Chad, I don't even really like you."

He pouted. "That's too bad." Then he turned to Carlos. "How 'bout you, De Vil? I'll pay you."

Carlos shook his head. "Chances are Dude would eat it. Not only that, but I don't want to," he emphasized, shooting him a fake grin. "Thanks anyway!"

Chad grit his teeth and turned to Doug. "How about you, Dopey?"

Doug let out a high-pitched laugh. "First of all, the name is Doug. Second of all, you have no idea how hilarious it is that you're asking. I have enough homework this week without worrying about yours. Plus, I wouldn't do it, anyway. You're on your own, Chad."

Chad crossed his arms in anger and turned toward Mal. She put her hand in front of his face in a swift motion. "Don't want to. Can't. Trying to be good. Cheating is wrong."

Chad let out an angry laugh. "Oh, c'mon! Won't anyone help me?"

Jane, Jay, Audrey, and Ben shook their heads.

"How is actually _doing_ your homework helping, anyway? You'll never learn if you keep having people do it for you," Jane scolded.

"Just forget it. But mark my words, you'll regret this," he warned them, storming off.

"Humph, well... somebody's touchy." Evie acknowledged. Everyone laughed.

The conversations ensued, but this time, everyone was engaged. So engaged, in fact, that no one even noticed when Chad walked by and casually grabbed Mal's spellbook off the table.

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 **To anyone who took the time to read this, I truly do thank you and love you all! Any feedback (a favorite, follow, but a review in particular) is much appreciated! But no pressure. At the very least, it will encourage me to post the next chapter faster. You know, if you're into that sort of thing. ;)**


	2. The Hunger of Persuasion

**Major shoutouts to those who read and reviewed! You honestly, truly have no idea how much I appreciate it. Also, I really want everyone to note that this story IS complete. It's just a matter of when I decide to post. With that said, on to the next chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Othello.**

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"Persuasion potion, persuasion potion, persuasion potion..." Chad muttered to himself as he furiously flipped through Mal's spellbook. He knew he only had so much time to get the book back before Mal and her friends would notice, so he was getting a bit frustrated. "Isn't there an index or something in this stupid thing?"

After spotting the spellbook on the table once Mal and her friends had rudely denied his very kind request to do his homework, he had come to the conclusion that he would have to fix the problem himself. The solution? A persuasion potion that would convince even the coldest of polar bears to purchase ice in their hometown of Alaska.

"Ah-ha!" he exclaimed, tapping his index finger on the page excitedly. "Here it is."

He started gathering the things he would need in order to make the drink. Once the last ingredient was added, he stirred the concoction rapidly. His eyes glowed in excitement. "This will totally keep me from having to do homework for the rest of my life," he whispered to himself. "I only have to figure out who I choose to be the victim to drink it."

He glanced down at the page of the spellbook again and groaned in exasperation. "This is a boost your ego potion! Not exactly what I need. I'm pretty awesome, if I do say so myself."

He thumbed through the book again, searching for the right page of the potion he needed. He found it quickly, gathered the ingredients even faster, and stirred it as if his life depended on it. He double checked the potion once more, certain he had the right one this time. He grabbed the glass that the drink was in and rushed out of the kitchen.

He walked past the table at which Mal and her friends were sitting. The group still seemed entirely engrossed in their conversations. _Do they ever shut up_?

He whistled softly and nonchalantly as he walked by Mal, who did not even remotely notice as he placed the book back in front of her. Luckily, none of her friends seemed to, either.

He walked by Carlos next, switching the curly-headed boy's drink with the persuasion potion. _That's what you get for being so rude to me._

Chad was still fuming, though not quite as badly as before. He crossed his arms over his chest and gave a nod of satisfaction as he made his way back to his own table.

"So, what's the play?" Carlos asked Jane, taking a sip of his drink.

" _Othello_ by William Shakespeare," she responded softly.

"Oooh, a man torn apart by intense jealousy! I like it. Maybe I'll consider auditioning myself."

"Mother wants me to audition for the role of Desdemona, of course, but I'm really not sure I'm cut out for the part. She's a lot stronger and braver than I am."

Carlos frowned. "That's not true, Jane. You're great! You just need to believe in yourself."

The meek and petite brunette managed a small smile. "You think so?"

"I know so," he assured her.

"Maybe you're right. Besides, like Mal said, I might not even get the part. Maybe I'm worrying for nothing."

A short, slightly shrill chime echoed throughout the cafeteria, indicating the end of lunch.

Jay grumbled, snatching his rusty orange beanie off of the table and throwing it over his long, black locks. "Guess we better get to class."

Mal walked up to the cash register with Ben by her side. Her cheeks turned a dark shade of red as she confessed to her theft from the other day. She bowed her head in shame, reluctantly holding out a couple of crinkled dollar bills in order to pay for the strawberry.

"I appreciate your honesty," the register worker told her, happily accepting the money. "Let's try not to make a habit of it."

Ben smiled at Mal, gently grabbing her hand. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Um, YES!"

Ben gave her a knowing look.

Mal rolled her eyes. "I guess not."

He smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good. I have to go, but I'll see you later, right?"

"I'd like to, but I have an art contest tomorrow and I have to finish my masterpiece. It's up against a lot of other stuff. I want it to be perfect."

"That's okay. I have a lot of stuff I need to do, too. Being the new king is not easy. Tons of responsibility."

Mal nodded in understanding as Ben promised to be at her art competition the next day, and the two headed off to their individual classes.

Mal groaned in disdain as she walked into the classroom. She had The History Of Captain Hook Since 1835. It was so boring that she hated it even more than Remedial Goodness. The only bright side was that she had it with Carlos; he waved happily as she took her seat by him.

Chad marched into the classroom next, taking the seat on the other side of Carlos. Mal glared at him, but he paid her no attention.

"So De Vil, here's your second chance. You going to do my homework or what?" He held out his hand which contained a fairly significant amount of gold coins.

"Look, Chad, Carlos made it extremely clear that he is not..." Mal interjected, taken completely by surprise when Carlos interrupted.

"I'd love to do your homework!" he beamed, taking the bright yellow coins out of Chad's palm.

Mal blinked in confusion. _Wait, what? That's weird. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with this earlier._

The teacher walked into the room and everyone turned towards the front. Mal attempted to shrug it off. _Maybe he changed his mind and really needs the money. Note to self: talk to him about it later._

The second her classes for the day were over, Mal headed to her room and began working on her art piece. Though she would almost rather die than admit it, she would be lying if she told anyone that she wasn't nervous. She was a very competitive person; to lose to anyone else would be an indication of her art not being superior. She had spent practically all of her childhood years covering the walls in grafitti back home on the Isle of the Lost. She knew what she was doing. Not only that, but art was one of the few things throughout her life that gave her an emotion that she couldn't quite describe. Happiness? A sense of confidence? Whatever it was, she knew that art was a big part of her life and one of the few things she were passionate about.

Finishing up the Mal masterpiece with the last few strokes of her paintbrush, she stood back and admired her work from a birds-eye view. The canvas spotted green, purple, and black depicted a picture of her mother. Only... it wasn't the mother she used to know.

This picture portrayed a huge purple and green lizard with beady eyes, looking out to the audience with what Mal felt was a mixture of regret and hope: the regret of past mistakes and the hope of learning to love.

Of course there were things about the concept of love that Mal still didn't quite understand. Sometimes she questioned whether or not she truly knew what the emotion felt like. All she knew was that Auradon had turned out to be not so bad after all, her friends meant a lot to her, and she couldn't stop herself from grinning whenever she saw or thought of Ben.

She only hoped that her mother could someday experience the amazing emotions Mal was now feeling herself.

She clicked the side of her cell phone, her wallpaper of Ben lighting up with a faint glow. The digital numbers on the front read 8:43.

 _Wow, almost nine o'clock,_ she thought, letting out a tiny yawn, which was interrupted by a loud growl from her stomach. _I think I better go grab a snack before I head to bed. I was so in the zone with my painting I forgot to eat dinner._

She snuck out of the room and shut her door quietly so as not to disturb anyone in the surrounding areas. Deep down she knew that she wouldn't get in trouble if she got caught. It wasn't quite time for curfew and students were allowed into the kitchen after hours, but for whatever reason, her internal instincts were telling her differently. She felt like she was being sneaky.

If she were being honest with herself, these same internal instincts were probably what caused her to jump a mile high when she turned on the light in the kitchen and was thoroughly surprised to see Evie standing there.

Mal put her hand over her chest and started laughing. Evie joined in.

"Let me guess. You missed dinner?" her friend asked once they had gotten over the initial shock.

Mal nodded. "I've been working on my art piece for tomorrow. As surprising as it is, I didn't even notice that you hadn't been back to our room. What have you been up to?"

"Been working on costumes for the play coming up and hanging out with Doug," she finished quietly, a light blush creeping up her cheeks.

Mal shot her friend a particularly toothy grin. "You really like him, don't you?"

Evie let out a contented sigh. "He's amazing, Mal. You know the feeling. Ben, right?"

Mal bit her lip somewhat shyly as a picture of the young king flashed through her mind. "Yeah."

The picture went away as her stomach reminded her why she had come to the kitchen in the first place.

"Somebody's hungry," Evie commented. "I am, too."

"Well, luckily for you," Mal began as she opened the refrigerator and pulled out a medium sized plastic container, "I have some of my famous Mal's magnificent cheese dip." She headed toward the pantry and pulled out a bag of potato chips.

Evie's eyes glistened. "Extra spicy?"

"You know it."

The two of them grabbed a chip out of the bag, eagerly covering them in the delicious cheese sauce.

A few seconds after Evie had taken her first bite, she started waving her hand in front of her face. "So hot!" she exclaimed. "Need water!"

She looked around the room frantically and found a cup of clear liquid sitting directly in front of her. She wasn't sure where it had come from, but she was desperate. She swallowed the beverage as fast as she could, hoping that it were water.

After she drank it, she noticed that it had a bit of a fruity taste, so it definitely wasn't water. Flat sparkling water, maybe? Either way, her mouth no longer felt like it would shoot out flames ten feet across the room, and for that she was grateful.

"You okay?" Mal asked with a tiny giggle as her friend wiped a tear from her eye.

"Yeah," Evie breathed, reaching for another chip. "So hot. But good. _So_ good. It's always the first bite that gets me. I'll be fine."

The girls laughed and talked as they enjoyed the rest of their snack until they realized time had gotten away from them; it was almost eleven. They headed back up to their room. After they had brushed their teeth and gotten ready for bed, Evie took a look at Mal's artwork.

"You are insanely talented, you know that?" Evie asked as she crawled into bed. "I wish I could paint like that."

"Thanks, Eve. That means a lot. You know, you're talented, too. Just in a different way. There's no way I could make costumes as beautiful as you do. You'll be there tomorrow, won't you?"

"Of course. I have to see you get that first place ribbon."

Mal smiled at her friend and turned out the light, pulling the covers up to her chin. "Good night."

Her friend let out a muffled goodnight. Mal heard soft snoring within seconds.

The violet-haired girl chuckled to herself and reminded herself to tell Evie in the morning that she had another talent she was unaware of: falling asleep instantly.

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 **That's all for now! Hope all of you are enjoying this story. Again, ALL feedback is much appreciated and very encouraging. Just might motivate me to post sooner. XoXo MUAH!**


	3. Feeding on Creativity

The next morning at the Auradon Prep art festival, the sun was shining brightly. Despite the power of the rays beaming down, the temperature was surprisingly cool.

 _Perfect day for this,_ Mal thought.

Taking one last look at her own piece, she realized that the inner parts of herself were currently struggling with one another. On one hand, she wanted to take a look around at everyone else's creativity to see what her work was up against. On the other, she was afraid that the comparison of the other pieces might make her lose confidence in her own abilities.

She didn't have too much time to think about it, though. Carlos walked by her briskly with an arm full of books, interrupting her thoughts.

"Carlos, where are you going? Aren't you going to stay for the art contest?"

"Yeah, I just have to get these books back to the library. I was up all night doing homework."

This triggered Mal's memory of the previous day. "Yeah, a lot of that is because you offered to do Chad's homework after you said no. Why?"

Carlos stifled a yawn and shrugged. 'I don't know. There's just something about him, don't you think? He can be very convincing."

Mal stared at him curiously. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say. Now go return those books and hurry back here. You're going to miss the judging!"

Carlos' eyes lit up. "I'm on it!" Filled with new gusto, he started running across the campus.

 _Huh_. _Maybe I'm pretty convincing myself. I've never seen Carlos move quite so fast. Something is definitely up with him. Whatever. I don't have time to worry about it right now. I need to check out some of my competition._

She started walking around the tent, carefully eyeing each piece. She was amazed at all the different forms of art there were: paintings, pottery, sculptures, mosaics. The tent was filled with a mass of endless artwork, and most of it _was_ pretty jaw dropping. The good news was that looking at the pieces didn't diminish Mal's confidence. She was proud of what she had created, and whatever happened, she had no control over it. Deep down she knew this, but that didn't stop her from keeping her eye on the first place ribbon. She wanted to win. She wanted to win _badly._

Jane walked up beside Mal, admiring all of the work alongside her. "Lots of cool stuff, huh?"

Mal nodded.

"Are you nervous?"

"Me? Nervous?" She scoffed. "Never."

"I would be," Jane admitted, fluffing the bottom of her blue skirt, "but I'm sure that's no surprise. I wish I could be more like you. How do you stay so confident?"

Mal thought about her response for a second, then shrugged. "Just comes with the territory, I guess. You still worried about your audition?"

Jane peered down at the ground and gave a half-hearted nod.

Mal smiled. "You'll be fine. Promise."

"I hope so."

Carlos appeared again, still as enthusiastic as before. "Fifteen minutes until judging. I'm kind of hungry. Anyone else want anything?"

"No, thanks." Mal responded.

"I think I could go for some popcorn," Jane informed him as she handed him some money.

Carlos gave it back to her. "It's on the house."

Jane smiled happily. "You sure?"

Carlos smiled back. "Positive. Be right back."

A couple of minutes later the white-and-black haired boy returned, his arms filled with an array of popcorn, corn dogs, hamburgers, nachos, funnel cakes, and any other kind of food that would typically be served at an art festival.

"CARLOS!" Jane shrieked with a laugh as he handed her a bag of popcorn and some of the other treats, "I asked for a bag of popcorn. Not for you to buy out the entire art show!"

Carlos frowned and stared down at the ground sadly. "Sorry. I thought you might be hungry. I don't know what happened. Something came over me and I decided to buy everything you might like."

A wave of guilt washed over Jane. "Oh, it's okay, Carlos. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound ungrateful. I _am_ hungry. You didn't have to go to all this trouble. But that's very sweet. Thank you." She took another one of the nachos and a corn dog from out of his hands as he smiled up at her.

"I'll take that," Jay commented with a cheeky grin as he appeared behind Carlos and snatched a cotton candy out of his hands. "You ready for this, Mal? It's now or never."

"Are you kidding? It's art. I was painting before I could walk. I was born ready."

"I ran into Evie and the others on the way. They said they'll be here in a little bit."

"Good, 'cause we have about five minutes." Mal responded, checking her watch.

As Jay had promised, the rest of the group showed up as a voiced boomed over the speakers.

"Ladies and gentleman, if you will all head to the center of the art tent, judging for the art competition is about to begin. There are lots of amazing pieces to be presented. You won't want to miss it!"

A mass of people from outside started filing into the art tent. Ben, Evie, Carlos, Jane, Jay, and Audrey all stood together as Mal took a place beside her painting.

"Before I announce the winners, I feel the need to express that this years competition was extremely close. There are so many vibrant talented works of art that it was hard to decide," Queen Belle informed everyone. "However, we did feel that there was one work that stood out just a little more than the others. With that being said... drumroll, please!"

The sound of drums chorused throughout the tent.

"In third place, we have Allison, who captivated us all with her sculpture of the white rabbit."

Allison smiled graciously and walked up to collect her ribbon.

"For runner up, we have Mal, who's painting had such bold and elegant colors that it was most certainly difficult for it to go unnoticed."

 _Runner up?_ Mal pouted. _But I worked so hard!_ She tried to smile and look happy as she took her yellow second-place ribbon out of Belle's hands, but she wasn't sure how well she was succeeding.

"Finally, our first place ribbon goes to and our overall winner is... JORDAN. Her chalk mosaic of Agrabah was so realistic that it took our breath away. All of the judges agreed that we felt like we were actually there. Congratulations, Jordan."

Jordan walked up and gave a polite nod to the Queen as she took her ribbon, beaming the whole time. The whole tent thundered with applause and cheers, and she waved out to the audience with enthusiasm. "Thank you," she proclaimed proudly. "I worked really hard on my piece, as I know we all did. Congratulations to Allison and Mal as well. You're both very talented and you truly deserve this award as much as I."

 _Kiss up,_ Mal thought to herself, scrunching her nose. Instantly, she felt guilty. She liked Jordan a lot and Mal had to admit, her mosaic _was_ pretty incredible. She knew she would get over the sting of losing eventually, but that didn't change how she was feeling at that exact moment. _Be nice, be nice. Jordan deserves it. It's okay. There's always next year. You win some, you lose some._

"No offense, Mal," Evie declared, walking up to her friend "but Jordan's mosaic really _was_ better."

 _Ouch._ Mal thought as she blinked sadly. She gained her composure, trying not to let her friend see how her words had affected her. "Yeah, Jordan's art is pretty fantastic, but I'm sure I'll come up with something even more outstanding and take the ribbon next year."

"That's the spirit," Ben told her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and kissing the top of her head. She smiled and leaned into his neck, instantly feeling better.

"I don't know. If Jordan keeps coming up with stuff like this, she'll be tough to beat," Evie went on, admiring the mosaic. Then she squinted, deep in thought. "I bet I could make something like this if I really set my mind to it."

"I'm sure you could," Mal replied. "But fashion is where your heart truly lies."

"Says who?"

"Um, you?"

Evie laughed. "True. But maybe I need to expand my horizons."

Ben attempted to change the subject, trying to get rid of the slightly awkward aura that was forming. "Hey, Carlos, you mind giving me one of those cheeseburgers?"

"No problem," Carlos stated, the tin-foil glistening in the sunlight as he handed him the burger with a wide grin. "I can even go get you some fries. Be right back!"

"CARLOS, WAIT!" Ben cried as he ran off, but it was too late. He was long gone. "I'm really okay with just the burger," he trailed off in a whisper.

"Anyone notice something off with Carlos?" Audrey asked. "He sure is at everyone's beckoned call today."

"Obviously," Ben retorted. "I was just thinking the same thing myself."

"Yeah, he bought me practically the entire carnival." Jane chimed in, pointing to her nachos, popcorn, and corn dog.

"I didn't want to say anything," Mal pointed out, "but he ended up doing Chad's homework last night after he right out refused, too."

"Interesting." Audrey drawled, watching Carlos at the fry stand from a distance. "Ah, well. He's always been a pretty helpful guy. A little goofy, maybe. But helpful. I'm sure it will pass."

Everyone nodded their heads and agreed they would worry more if the behavior continued.

Mal enjoyed the rest of the day with her friends, though Evie's earlier words about Jordan's art being better echoed throughout her head for most of it. She didn't like the fact that it was bothering her so much, but she couldn't help it. Finally, she decided to let it go. One of the things she appreciated the most about her best friend was that even if it stung a little, she was always honest.

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 **Major thanks to all who will read and give feedback! It really does mean so much because as any writer knows, it's very hard work! Just to throw it out there, there are nine chapters of this fic. I hope you enjoyed this one! :D Love you all.**


	4. Crushing the Competition

Jay zipped as fast as his legs would carry him across the tourney field, and echoes from the screams of the crowd roared loudly as he scored another goal. Running across to the other side of the field, he slapped Ben a high-five on the way.

 ** _WE'VE GOT THE SPIRIT, COME ON LETS HEAR IT_**

 ** _WHO'S THE TEAM THAT PUTS UP A FIGHT?_**

 ** _WE'RE BLUE AND GOLD_**

 _ **THE FIGHTING KNIGHTS!** _

The cheerleaders shook their pom-poms from the sidelines and cheered loudly, causing the crowd to burst into another set of cheers.

There were only a few seconds left on the clock. The visiting team was currently ahead by only one point. If the Knights could score one more goal before time was up, they would win. Jay was determined to make that happen.

The referee called for the players to get into position and blew the whistle. Jay started zooming across the field again as fast as he could. The players from the other team tried to stop him, but he wasn't having it. He shoved into everyone blocking his path, knocking them down with as must force as he could muster.

"Alright, girls, get into position!" Audrey called. The rest of the squad grabbed her by the bottom of her feet, picking her up in order to attempt a basket toss. Audrey flew through the air, but as she came down, one of the girls lost her grip.

"OW! OW OW OW!" Audrey screamed, wincing in pain as her foot connected with the ground, her voice echoing across the field.

Jay stopped running and rushed over to her side. "Audrey, are you okay?"

Ben, Carlos, and the rest of the team, as well as the cheer squad surrounded her.

"It's my ankle. I landed on it wrong. It hurts so bad," she whined, clutching it with one hand and wiping a tear from her eye with the other.

The buzzer sounded, indicating that time was up. People across the field that had been rooting for the Sherwood Falcons burst into cheers and applause.

A fresh flood of tears hit Audrey's eyes and started streaming down her cheeks. "I made you guys lose the game," she remarked, her tone ashamed.

"Don't even worry about that," Jay responded, pulling her up. "We'd better get you to the nurse."

The captain of the other team wandered over. Jay couldn't quite remember for certain, but for whatever reason, he wanted to say that his name was Dylan. "Thanks for getting hurt," he told Audrey in sing-song. "We won!"

Ben's eyes formed into slits. "We totally would have beaten you. It just so happens we care more about the _people_ on our team than _winning_."

"Yeah, yeah," Dylan muttered.

Carlos stuck his tongue out at him. "You're a jerk!"

"Oh, go take your dog for a walk." the snarky captain jeered, rolling his eyes and walking away.

"Okay!" Carlos grinned happily, attaching the leash to Dude's collar. He began walking circles around the track with Dude by his side.

Jay shook his head with a light chuckle and gently lifted Audrey off the ground, carrying her in his arms to the nurses office.

Upon inspection, the nurse prescribed her a few pain pills and informed her that nothing was broken, but she did have a pretty big sprain.

"Ouch," Jay remarked, rubbing the back of his neck and turning to Audrey with a sympathetic look. "That's almost worse than a break."

The nurse nodded. "I'd suggest staying off of it for a few weeks, at least. I know you probably don't want to let the squad down, Audrey, but it really is for the best."

Audrey sighed sadly and started to move her ankle a little, wincing with each circle she made. "Alright. I'll let it heal. But I'm not happy about this."

The nurse gave her a half-hearted smile. "I'm sure not. But the more you rest, the sooner you'll be back with the squad," she confirmed, handing her a pair of crutches.

Audrey and Jay walked out the door, but the instant they were out in the hall Jay took her by the hand and picked her up again in a swift motion. Audrey let out a squeal of surprise. "Jay," she laughed, "what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? Carrying you."

Audrey hoped her cheeks didn't appear as red as they felt to her in that particular moment. "That's really sweet of you, but you don't have to. She gave me some crutches. I'm not helpless."

"I know," Jay confessed, "but I figure the more pressure you keep off of it, the better. I want to help."

Their eyes connected for a second. Audrey swallowed nervously and looked away shyly, unable to keep eye contact with him. Finally, she forced herself to look into his eyes. "Alright. I guess the least I can do is let you carry me around since I caused you guys to lose the game and all," she surrendered, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly.

It was lunchtime, so Jay marched into the cafeteria with a swollen-ankled Audrey in his arms.

"Oh my gosh," Mal gasped when she saw them. "Audrey, what happened?"

"Ben didn't tell you?" Jay asked.

"No, I haven't seen him yet. He texted me telling me he had something to do before lunch."

Audrey's answer was simple. "I got hurt."

Mal placed her hand on her hip and pointed to Audrey's ankle, letting out a tiny laugh. "I can see that. _How?"_

"We were trying to do a basket toss and I landed on my ankle."

"Oh, that's too bad." Evie chimed in, shaking her head. "I bet if I were on the squad that would have never happened to me."

Mal, Jay, and Audrey shot her a curious look.

"What?"

"Since when are you into cheerleading?"

"I'm not. I'm just saying if I had been on the squad, I wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"And how could you possibly know that?" Audrey asked.

"Because I'm the best!" Evie declared, raising her shoulders as if this information were nothing new.

"Well, I'm glad it's not more serious," Jay told Audrey with a smile. "In the meantime, I'll make sure you're taken good care of."

Audrey nodded in agreement at his comment, then blushed slightly as he pulled out a chair for her to sit down.

"Too bad we lost the game, though." he continued with a frown.

Evie snorted. "You guys lost the game?"

Silence.

"Again, that never would've happened if I were playing tourney."

This time Jay couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh. "You? Tourney? Oh, please. I'd love to see that!"

Evie crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "Challenge accepted."

Jay raised his eyebrows. "Oh, yeah? When?"

"This afternoon. After school."

Jay laughed again. "It's so on."

It was at that very moment that Mal questioned what exactly had gotten into her friend. Never in a million years did she picture that Evie would even _play_ tourney, let alone believe she were good at it.

 _Guess she really meant it when she said she wanted to expand her horizons. Got to give her credit for her the risk taking._

That same afternoon Evie, Jay, and the rest of the gang met out on the tourney field.

"Okay, Evie. You know the rules, right?" Carlos was dressed in his best red and white coach attire, the whistle in his hand gleaming brightly in the sunlight.

Evie nodded. "We're keeping this short and sweet. First person to score a goal wins. Believe me, one goal is all it's going to take."

Carlos blew the whistle. Evie raced down the field with the tourney stick in her hand, hitting the ball with all her might. Once she reached the goal, she attempted to make a shot, but Jay successfully blocked it. She let out a loud groan, throwing her stick down in fury as they switched places.

Once Jay reached the end of the field, he lined up his shot just as Evie had, and aimed for the goal with all his strength. Evie shot forward as quickly as she could, and came extremely close to blocking the shot, but unfortunately, the ball successfully landed into the net.

"NO FAIR!" Evie seethed as Jay jumped up and down in victory. "THAT WAS WAY TOO CLOSE TO CALL! I DEMAND A REMATCH!"

Jay walked up to her with a broad smile, his eyes sparkling. "Don't hate the player, hate the game," he advised.

"Let me tell you something, Jay... that was pure luck. I can beat you at this game anytime, any day," she threatened, poking him in the chest. "You're a loser."

Jay's mouth dropped open in shock. "Excuse me? I believe I won!"

"Oh, yeah? "If you're so good, hotshot, then how come you lost the game today?"

"Because Audrey got hurt. Forgive me if taking care of her was a little more important than winning. I don't see how that makes me a loser."

"Yeah, whoa, E! Calm down!" Mal interjected. "What's gotten into you?"

Evie merely shook her head as she walked away, not even bothering to respond.

Mal looked at Jay and he simply shrugged his shoulders. "Bad day?" he predicted. "The pressure of making all those costumes must be getting to her."

Mal could only hope that Jay was right as she watched her friend continue to march across the field.

Later that evening, Mal was adding a batch of cookies that had cooled into a delicate pink basket. Looking at it made her cringe, but she knew it was Audrey's favorite color. _I hope you enjoy these cookies, Audrey, because to be honest, the sight of this thing is killing my eyes._

Suddenly, the kitchen door burst open as Evie walked in and she happily took a cookie from the basket. "What's up?"

Mal laughed and gave her a light slap on the hand. "Stay out of those! These are for Audrey."

Evie crinkled her nose in confusion. "Why?"

"Uh... because she sprained her ankle?" Mal retorted as if the answer were obvious.

"Oh, boo-hoo. She'll get over it and live. It's not like she deserves these. She's not exactly nice to you, you know. Come to think of it, I'm your best friend and you've never done anything like this for me. You should totally bake me sweet treats because I am fabulous."

Mal shot her friend a skeptical look, taken aback by her sudden abrasiveness. "Not that you aren't amazing, but maybe I'll bake you sweet treats if you ever sprain a body part, okay? I'm not sure what's gotten into you lately. Is something going on that I should know about?"

Her best friend let out a heavy sigh. "It's so hard when people can't see your inner talent, you know? I am so much better at tourney than Jay is even though I lost, and he _still_ wants to say he's better. How delusional is that?!"

Mal's skeptical look continued. "Delusional. Riiight," she countered, packing up the cookie basket. She could only hope that her friend was joking. Someone was definitely delusional, but as far as Mal was concerned, it wasn't Jay.

Mal walked down the corridor to Audrey's room she shared with Jane, giving a light tap on the door.

Her voice called from the inside. "Come in!"

Mal entered the room, covering her face with the pink basket. "Please get this ugly thing out of my life," she begged in monotone, shoving the basket in Audrey's direction.

She carefully took the basket out of Mal's hands. "What are these for?"

"Well, you know, you sprained your ankle and all," Mal mumbled. "I figured I'd try to be nice."

Audrey continued to eye the basket suspiciously. "I'm not going to die or anything, am I? Oh, wait, no. You put a spell on them to cause me to heal slower so I'll stay kicked off the squad." She shoved the basket back at Mal. "No thanks."

Mal rolled her eyes. "Look, Aud, I know we kind of got off on the wrong foot... no pun intended... but I promise there is no hocus pocus involved with these cookies. It's hard for me to express myself with words, so I attempt to do nice things for people. These cookies are really my way of saying that I'm sorry your sprained your ankle. Ihopeyougetbettersoon."

Audrey raised her eyebrows. "What was that?"

Mal sighed. "I said I hope you get better soon!"

"Oh," Audrey finally managed, blinking in surprise. "Um, thanks. And thanks for the cookies," she went on, peering into the basket. "Snickerdoodles are my favorite."

Mal gave one last smile and a polite nod as she headed out of the room. _Good deed for the day done_ , she thought in satisfaction. _She just better not get used to it._

* * *

 **There you have it for Chapter 4! Hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter will be a little shorter than the rest, so bare with me..**


	5. Anonymous Admirations and Auditions

"Todays the day," Mal informed her friend as Jane thumbed through her script of _Othello._ "Your big audition. You ready?"

Jane sucked in a deep, nervous breath. "As ready as I'm going to be. I can only hope I don't get the part. If I'm this nervous now, I can't imagine what I'd be like on stage."

Mal peered up from her Evolution of Fairies book to see Jay saunter into the cafeteria with an injured Audrey once again in his arms. She smirked to herself knowingly and glanced back down at her book, her pen scratching lightly as she began taking notes again.

"Well, if it isn't the sore loser," Jay mocked as he took a seat beside Evie. "Sorry I had to beat you so badly out there yesterday. I can't help it if tourney comes naturally to me. Guess you'd better stick with what you know best."

Evie's brown eyes flashed with intense anger. "I already told you, you beating me yesterday was pure luck. You just can't accept the fact that I'm better than you and always will be."

Jay laughed. "Sure, Evie. Whatever you say."

Evie gritted her teeth and stood up, scooting her chair back with excessive force, causing a loud screech across the tile floor. She began marching towards the exit of the cafeteria.

"Where are you going?" Jay questioned.

"None of your business," she called back curtly.

"Everybody's a critic," Jay commented, shaking his head. "I can't help it if I'm the best player on the team." He smirked and scooted his chair back, crossing his hands at the back of his neck while placing his feet on the table.

Mal wrinkled her nose in disgust, giving his feet a hard push. "You mind? I'm trying to work here!"

The push caused Jay's chair to go flying backward as he landed in the floor.

Mal, Jane, and Audrey all tried to contain their laughter, but burst into a fit of giggles as Jay sat there a moment, awestruck with embarrassment. He raised his eyebrows and looked to Mal. "You could have at least told me you were going to do that, ya know."

Mal covered her mouth in an attempt to hide the laugh that was still escaping. "I'm sorry. I really am. Are you okay?"

"I happen to be perfectly fine. It's my dignity that's a little damaged," Jay muttered, his cheeks turning red as he looked down at the ground.

"Aw, poor baby," Audrey joked. She laughed, reaching out her hand. "Here, let me help you up."

"No, thanks." Jay responded, standing up and puffing out his chest. "I can take care of myself."

Audrey shook her head. "Boys. I'll never understand you and your pride. Anyway, I'd better go. I might not be able to participate, but I have to watch the other girls rehearse for the big dance number coming up at the next game."

"Want me to carry you over there?"

Audrey smiled at him genuinely. "Jay, you have been so sweet since yesterday, but it's not that far. I'll be fine," she assured him, using his shoulder for support to stand as she grabbed her crutches. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Everyone watched Audrey to make sure she made it out of the cafeteria alright. The instant she was gone, Mal spoke up.

"Okay, Jay, what's the deal with Audrey?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb. Carrying her all over the school so she doesn't have to make an effort to walk even five feet."

"The girl is hurt. I'm only trying to be a gentleman," he responded matter-of-factly.

Mal threw back her head, letting out a long trill of laughter. "Do you forget who you're talking to right now? I know you. You are the farthest thing from a gentleman. And believe me, even if you were a gentleman, carrying her everywhere would be overly chivalrous." She raised her eyebrows suspiciously. "Are you into her?"

Jay crinkled his forehead and scoffed. "What? Me like Audrey? No way. She's totally out of my league."

Mal stared at him for a good five seconds in silence, which was more than enough of an indication for Jay to see that she wasn't buying it.

"Okay, fine," he confessed in a whisper. "Maybe a little. She's really pretty, and her laugh is sort of contagious, and she always smells good and..."

He trailed off because it was then he noticed he was rambling. Not only that, but the words he was rambling were ones of a complete softie. He was no softie. That simply would not do. "And if you tell her or anyone else I will not be responsible for my actions. Got it?"

"That is so cute!" Jane clapped, her voice shrill with excitement. "Don't worry. I won't say a word."

Mal held up her hands in defense. "Me, neither. Not my place."

Jay let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Anyway, I have to go, too. Catch you guys later."

Jane and Mal waved goodbye to Jay as Carlos walked up. The boys slapped hands, said a quick goodbye, and Carlos took a seat at the table. Mal couldn't ignore Jane's broad smile and how her crystal blue eyes lit up upon seeing him.

"Guess what, Jane?" Carlos questioned, tossing a copy of his script on the table. "I've officially decided to audition for the play, too."

"Really? What part?"

"Iago. I think he'll be a really fun character."

Mal gave Jane a light nudge on her shoulder, nodding in Carlos' direction. "See, Jane? Carlos will be with you. Does that make you feel better?"

The shy girl managed a small smile. "Actually, it does a little bit."

Carlos nodded confidently. "We got this."

After lunch, the two of them headed for the stage in the auditorium. Carlos was up first. Jane was impressed by how good he was. He had memorized his lines perfectly and enunciated each one with just the right amount of emotion.

"That was fantastic, Carlos. Cast members and their roles will be outside of the auditorium tomorrow. You can stop by and see if you got the part. Thank you for your time," Mr. Rafiki, the drama teacher, told him.

Jane was getting ready to go up on stage when she heard the distinct squeak of the auditorium doors opening.

Evie walked in with a script in her hand.

"Hi, Evie." Jane greeted her brightly. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Evie inquired, a mischievous gleam in her eye. "I'm auditioning."

* * *

 **There you have it for chapter 5! Told you it was a tad shorter than the rest. Hope you enjoyed it all the same. Keep an eye out for chapter 6!**


	6. Not Playing Around

Jane paced back and forth in front of the auditiorum the next morning, more nervous than ever before. The second Evie had told her that she was auditioning, it were as if Genie himself had taken what little ounce of confidence Jane had, which was hardly any to begin with, and put it in his own little bottle for safekeeping.

Carlos had assured her once her audition was done that she had been incredible, but Jane figured he was just being Carlos and didn't have the heart to tell her that she had tanked.

Evie, of course, had been amazing. The acting seemed to come naturally to her.

As far as Jane were concerned, it would be better if she didn't get the role of Desdemona, anyway. She wasn't wired to be the center of attention. Helping with props. Making amends to the sets. Backstage. That was where she belonged.

The cast and crew had already been posted, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to look yet for two reasons. One was obviously because she was terrified and the second was that she had promised Carlos she wouldn't take a peek until he got there. As if reading her mind, the bright-eyed boy came up behind her.

"Carlos, please help," she begged, looking into his eyes hopelessly. "I feel like I'm going to be sick. What if I didn't get the part? I'd hate to let mother down, I really would. Or worse yet, what if I _do_ get the part? If I make a mistake, I'll be the laughing stock of Auradon Prep!"

Carlos laid a soothing hand on her shoulder. "I keep telling you, Jane, you did really great yesterday. If you got the part, you'll be fantastic. And if you don't, well, that's okay, too. C'mon. It's the moment of truth. Let's take a look."

He took her by the hand as they walked up to the cast list. Carlos scanned his finger across the list of names until he came across his own. His finger automatically went to the right of the page to match the role with his name. "YES," he called out in excitement, jumping up and down. "I got the part! I'm Iago!"

Jane gasped excitedly and squealed. "Oh, Carlos, that's amazing! I'm so happy for you!"

He took a step back. "Your turn," he encouraged, gently pushing her forward.

Jane swallowed hard and took a light, shaky breath. She searched the page for her name. Right beside it was her role. She blinked to make sure she weren't seeing things _._

"I... I got the part," she stammered in disbelief. "I'm Desdemona."

Carlos took her hand and waved it in the air. "Whoo-hoo! I knew you could do it. Congratulations, Jane!"

She stood still as a statue.

"Oh, c'mon," he said, dropping her hand. "Aren't you excited?"

She shook her head. "Not really. This might only make things worse. To be honest, I don't quite understand it. Evie was so much better than I was."

Carlos let out a tiny, frustrated sigh. He was never going to give up on trying to build Jane's confidence, but there was definitely still a long way to go.

"You got that right," Evie commented smugly as she stepped between them. "I just know the role of Desdemona is mine."

She took a long look at the list, scanning for her name. Upon seeing Jane's name beside Desdemona's, Evie's expression was nothing short of horrified. She continued searching out of curiosity. Finally, she found her name. "Emilia? I got the part of EMILIA?"

Carlos grinned at her broadly, giving her an excited wave. 'Hiya, wifey."

Evie grunted in distaste, walking up to Jane. "I don't know how you got this part, but I hope on opening night you forget every single line and make a complete fool of yourself. You don't deserve it. _I_ do. I was _better_. You said so yourself, and you'd do well to remember that." She shoved herself between the two of them again, storming down the hallway as fast as her feet would carry her.

"She doesn't seem too happy." Jane stated nervously, biting her bottom lip. Tears started forming in her eyes, but she blinked them back, internally relieved that Carlos didn't seem to notice.

"She'll be fine. There are no small parts, only small actors," he replied. "Want to start rehearsing? The play is the day after tomorrow."

"I guess we better," Jane mumbled, her tone reluctant.

They climbed onto the auditorium stage, scripts in both sets of hands. Jane attempted to recite one of her lines towards the beginning of the play.

" _I am not merry, but I do beguile. The thing I am by_... _by_..." She stopped, forgetting the next part.

" _Seeming otherwise_ ," Carlos whispered.

" _Seeming otherwise_ ," she repeated. " _Come, how woulds't thou_..."

She pursed her lips in concentration, but it was no use. Another blank. "Oh, forget it," she whimpered, taking a seat on the edge of the stage as she threw her script to the side. The tears started welling up again. "I'm going to tell mother I quit and tell Mr. Rafiki to give the role of Desdemona to Evie. I can't do it. " A single tear trailed down her cheek and she sniffed quietly, looking down at the ground.

He took a seat beside her. "Hey, look at me," he commanded delicately, tilting her chin up to look at him as he wiped her tear away. "Yes, you _can_. I think Evie got in your head a little bit. It takes a while to memorize every single line. You're doing fine."

Jane managed a small smile. "You're totally lying."

Carlos smiled back. "Am not."

"Are, too."

"I am not," he assured her, standing up and reaching for her hand. "Now, come on. Let's keep practicing."

He pulled her up, unaware of how close their faces would become when he did so. Noses merely inches apart, Jane felt her breath hitch as she got up the courage to do what she wanted to do next. She kissed him on the cheek.

The expression on Carlos' face turned to complete surprise, taken aback by Jane's sudden bravery. "What was that for?"

She took his hand, rubbing her thumb gently on the outside of his own. "For believing in me. Even if I don't exactly believe in myself."

He smiled and leaned in to return the favor, letting his lips linger there a couple of seconds longer than she had. "Always," he whispered. "Now, come on. You're going to be the best Desdemona Auradon Prep has ever seen. Evie's jealousy will be one hundred percent justified by the time we're through with you."

After rehearsing for an hour, the two of them walked hand-in-hand to the courtyard where everyone had agreed to meet.

Carlos couldn't help but notice that Mal's expression looked a bit panicked as they walked up. He followed her eyes, which were intently watching Evie and Chad from across the quad. Evie's arm was over his shoulder, and she was batting her eyelashes at him furiously.

"Anyone notice anything up with Evie lately?" Mal asked aloud, her gaze a little hazy from not blinking. "She seems awfully chummy with Chad right now. Normally she wouldn't give him the time of day."

No one responded, but kept watching as Doug appeared behind Evie. She gave him an intense glare as her lips began to move and pointed toward their table. A few seconds later, Doug was headed in their direction, his head hanging down.

"Evie just broke up with me," he muttered once he reached them. "Said that someone of her status could not even remotely be seen with someone like me."

"WHAT?" Mal screeched. "That makes absolutely no sense."

"It's what happened," Doug continued quietly. "Anyway, I'd kind of like to be alone right now. Sorry. I'll see you later."

"You guys, something is definitely going on with her," Mal pointed out as she watched Doug walk away.

"What do you mean?" Jay asked.

"I don't know. It kind of seems like she's particularly been all about herself lately. Maybe even mean, don't you think?"

Jay shrugged as if it were no big deal. "So she's a little vain. She's the Evil Queen's daughter. What do you expect?"

"This is more than that," Mal argued. "First, she made a snide comment to me about my artwork at the festival, but I only thought she was trying to be honest, so I let it slide. Then she gets way too bent out of shape about you beating her at tourney. She said she wanted to expand her horizons, so I let that go, too. She also said she wouldn't have gotten hurt like Audrey if she had been on the squad, and later that evening she said some pretty harsh things. I realize Audrey may not be her favorite person. She isn't exactly mine, either. But it was like she had no remorse for what happened to her at all. Now she's broken up with Doug and flirting with Chad again? I'm telling you, something doesn't add up."

"I think you're over-thinking it, Mal." Carlos countered. "She's probably just been under a lot of stress lately."

Mal didn't say anything. As much as she wanted to believe her friends, she couldn't. There were several seconds of awkward silence before the boys announced that they'd better leave. Carlos waved goodbye to her with a sympathetic-expressioned Jane in tow.

"Hi," a cheerful voice called, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her neck delicately. "How's it going?"

Normally, Mal would instantly smile at the sound of her boyfriends voice, but right now she was too upset. "Something's wrong with Evie," Mal blurted, "and Jay and Carlos think it's nothing."

She went on to explain to him what she had explained to her friends. Ben had the same response. Apparently, being the Evil Queen's daughter was an excuse.

Mal laughed in disbelief. "Evie is confident," she declared. "Not cocky."

"So you're saying Evie has never shown any signs of vanity whatsoever?"

There was a pause before Mal responded, her mind instantly flashing to a picture of her best friend continuously looking in her magic mirror. "Well, no..."

"See? We all have our moments, Mal. Look at yourself. You still steal."

"Oh, great. So you're going to throw the strawberry incident from the other day up in my face? Thanks, Ben. Thanks a lot."

"I didn't mean to offend you," he told her, an expression of hurt crossing his face. "I'm merely suggesting like Carlos did that maybe you're over thinking this a little."

"And I'm merely suggesting that I know my best friend. Something is seriously wrong with her," she retorted, her tone mocking his.

Ben's expression hardened. "Well, I'm sorry if we disagree. Maybe you don't like to hear the truth."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't be dating a villain kid!"

"Maybe I shouldn't!"

"Fine," Mal stated coldly, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away.

"FINE!" Ben shouted, throwing his chair back. He started marching across the quad.

Mal sat there in stunned silence for a moment before standing up, her legs feeling heavier than usual. She went to the room she shared with Evie, thankful for once that her best friend wasn't there. Not that it mattered. The person on the quad was not her best friend. Deep down Mal knew this. She only wished she could get the others around her to see it, too. Was she ever going to be able to convince anyone that something was really off with Evie's behavior?

Mal was proud of herself, though. It was a decent fifteen minutes before the loneliness got the better of her and she allowed the tears that had been forming to freely fall.

* * *

 **There you have it for Chapter 6! I'm sorry if it's a little wordy. Hopefully it was enticing enough for you to get through! Again, suggestions for improvement are always welcome if you have them. This chapter and the next are two of my personal favorites. Only three more chapters left!**


	7. Lessons In Love

A faint glow from the fire of the torch she was holding was the only source of light Mal had as she made her way down the hall to the West Wing of Belle and Adam's castle.

A tiny creak was heard as she opened the door of the small room. Mal walked toward a golden wired cage and carefully lifted the soft blanket that was covering it.

A tiny, black, scaly lizard lay at the bottom, snoring soundly.

"Hi, mom." Mal whispered.

King Adam still had very strict rules about who was allowed in the West Wing. After lots of pleading and begging from Ben, he had allowed to make one exception. He and Belle both agreed to let her mother stay there, and Mal was given permission to visit as frequently as she liked.

Upon seeing her mother in the form of the little lizard, Mal felt a pang of guilt rush throughout her body. It was an emotion she had come to recognize a lot lately. She knew she should probably visit her mom more often, but it was hard to see her and recall how she had gotten to the state she was currently in. Mal made a promise to herself in that moment to make more frequent visits. Rather than focus on the negative, she would focus on her potential to change. Who knew? Maybe Mal visiting her was the first thing she needed to make a step in the right direction.

Mal glanced around the room, the beams of sunlight giving a particularly vibrant wash to the colors on the stained-glass windows. In the middle of the room was a delicate glass globe. A vivid, crimson, long-stemmed rose stood upright in the center.

 _Huh. So this is the flower everyone always makes such a big fuss about. The symbol of Adam and Belle's undying love._

Her thoughts were interrupted with the very faint sound of yawning.

The tiny lizard stretched and made a circle around the cage. Upon seeing Mal, she walked toward the golden wires that kept her enclosed. Her nostrils moved ever so lightly as she stuck out her tongue, picking up her daughters scent. Mal stuck a piece of fresh apple into the cage and her mother began to chomp at it hungrily.

"Well, mom, I have to admit, seems like things are going a lot better for you than they are for me right now."

The delicate crunching of the apple stopped. Standing upright on her two back feet, the reptile peered at Mal curiously with her beady, black eyes, cocking her head as if beckoning her to continue.

"I don't have a best friend anymore. Something's going on with Evie and I can't convince anyone otherwise. On top of that, Ben and I got into a fight over it yesterday. You're right about that true love stuff. It's for schmucks. Who needs Ben, anyway?"

 _You kind of do._ Tears started to form in the violet-headed girl's eyes, but she refused to cry this time.

"I wouldn't have come here, but I didn't exactly know where else to turn, you know? I sort of needed someone to vent to."

To Mal's surprise, her mother extended her hand outside of the cage. Mal let out a light laugh and put her index finger in front of the black scales. The long, sharp claws wrapped around it gently.

"Thanks, mom." she muttered softly as a single tear fell from her eye. _So much for not crying._ She wiped it away quickly and sniffed, determined to control her emotions. "You know, I might still be having problems, but I'm telling you, this whole being good thing isn't exactly terrible. Maybe you should try it for yourself sometime."

The tiny lizard let go of Mal's finger abruptly, letting out a ferocious hiss.

Mal held her hands up defensively. "Okay, okay. One day at a time. Sheesh."

Mother peered up at daughter again, a small smile forming at the corners of both their mouths.

Mal sat there for several moments longer before heading back to Auradon Prep. On the way to her room, she ran into Doug who still looked as upset as he had the day before.

"Hey, Doug", she approached, her tone cautious. "Have you talked to Evie today?"

He shook his head hesitantly. "I tried. She absolutely refuses to speak to me. Hi-ho, hi-ho. She's not the girl I know," he droned.

Mal snapped her fingers. "I _knew_ I couldn't be the only one who noticed something is wrong with her. What do you think is going on?"

Doug shrugged. "Haven't got a clue. One minute she was fine, and the next it was like if people didn't see her as the center of attention, she was too good for them. Guess she doesn't want to be with some dumb band geek anymore."

Mal shot him a sympathetic smile. "I'm not entirely sure what's going on myself but you can bet I'm going to get to the bottom of it. She cares about you, Doug. I know she does."

She made him promise to let her know that if Evie started talking to him again he would let her know as soon as possible, and they went their separate ways.

When Mal finally made it to her room she noticed a tiny envelope on her pillow. She recognized the handwriting that had scrawled her name on the front instantly.

 _Mal, please take my scooter and meet me where we had our first date. I have asked the limo driver to drop me off within walking distance so you could have your own way there. We really need to talk- Ben_

Her heart started beating at a hundred miles a minute. She got ready, grabbed her helmet, raced to the parking lot, and boarded the scooter.

The drive to the Enchanted Lake was short. When she arrived, she saw Ben patiently waiting on one of the rocks, staring out at the shimmering clear water and tapping his feet on the edge nervously.

"Getting the courage to jump in?"

Ben turned, his smile a mile wide at the sound of her voice. "I wasn't sure you'd show."

"Well, you know..." she began, her tone teasing, "I did it for the chocolate covered strawberries."

"Is that so?" he teased back, wrapping his arms around her waist as he approached her.

"Mmm-hmm," she murmered, gazing into his hunter green eyes.

"Mal, I'm so sorry," he whispered, tucking a bright purple lock of her hair that had gotten loose behind her ear. "I don't know what happened yesterday."

"Our first fight. That's what happened."

He frowned. "Yeah. I didn't like it."

"Me, neither," she agreed, pressing her forehead against his. "And for the record, I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have been offended so easily by the stealing comment."

He put a finger to her lips. "Don't even go there. I was inconsiderate. You were only trying to tell me your concerns for Evie and I brushed it off. You were already frustrated because Jay and Carlos weren't willing to listen. I should have been."

Mal felt her heart sink at being reminded of her friend's attitude and pushed away from him lightly. "I'm really worried about her, Ben. Sure, maybe her vanity has gotten the better of her at certain points, but this is excessive. She's almost heartless."

The young king sighed, wrapping his arms around the middle of her torso, pulling her close. "Don't worry. We'll figure this out. Give it a little time. See if her behavior changes. Kind of like we agreed to do with Carlos, you know?" He paused for a second, deep in thought. "What would you say has been her strangest behavior so far?"

"Oh, definitely dumping Doug yesterday." Mal responded without hesitation, turning around to face him again. "I don't get it at all. She's crazy about him. Believe me, I know. We talk about you two all..." Her eyes widened as she caught herself. "Never mind."

"Oh, no. You're not getting out of this one," he warned jokingly. "Go on. You talk about us all the time. And what do you say?"

Mal groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Please don't make me do this."

Ben uncovered her face, furrowing his eyebrows while peering at her with an intense determination.

She threw her hands up in defeat. "Alright, fine. Fine! We just say how we're pretty sure we never exactly knew what love was...but...ugh, this is so embarrassing!"

Ben's already present grin grew even wider, moving his hand in a circular motion as an indication for her to continue.

"But we feel like you guys have been doing a pretty decent job of showing us," she muttered under her breath. "There. You happy?"

His teasing expression due to her discomfort turned serious as he reached out to touch her cheek."Glad to hear you feel that way," he murmered,"because I really care about you. I care about you so much."

Mal felt her heart rate pick up again as her breathing slowed down, reaching up to touch his own cheek. "I know you do. I only hope that you never question my feelings for you. Sometimes it's hard for me to express myself. I'm still working on that. I've got to say, after our fight, I was sort of doubting everything."

Ben's eyes lost their light, concern completely washing over his face. "And now that we've made up?"

Mal smiled coyly and brushed a strand of his sandy hair away from his eyes. Leaning in, she connected her lips to his own in a tender kiss, hoping that Ben would get the message she was trying to send. _Things are even better than before._

 **Chapter 7 over and done! Wow, I'm kind of sad, you guys. Only 2 more chapters to go! So was Mal and Ben's make up everything that you hoped it would be? Did I make you swoon? Can you see how hard I ship them? Haha! I hope so! Because I do. I ship them SO HARD!**


	8. Spell It Out

Carlos stuck out his chin and placed his hands on his hips, his voice radiating pride. "What do you think? Do I look like Iago?"

He adorned an oversized white shirt with a black ruffled coat, black tights, and worn out black shoes so old that they had creases in the leather.

"I think you look like a doof," Jay snickered.

"It's Shakespeare!" Carlos shouted, his tone defensive. "It's not meant to be stylish!"

"I have to say, the sword is pretty cool," Jay confessed, grabbing the weapon that was attached to Carlos' hip and admiring it.

If looks could kill, the expression that Evie shot Jay as she approached them would have knocked him over dead. "I overheard what you said. He looks amazing. I should know. I made the costume! Ugh, I AM SO SICK AND TIRED OF EVERYONE KNOCKING DOWN EVERYTHING I KNOW I'M PERFECT AT!"

She turned to the group, her intense gaze scanning each of them carefully. "You know what? That's it. I'm done. I'm too good for all of you, anyway. Don't even bother talking to me."

"Evie, I..." Jay began.

She put her hand in his face, curving her top lip in a fierce snarl. "Save it. If you guys can't respect my talent and accept the fact that I'm exceptional at everything I do, I don't need you bringing me down. True friendship is about praising all of my abilities and putting me first." She tossed her hair and marched out of the auditiorium into the hall, the clicking of her tiny blue heels echoing all the way as she went.

Everyone stood there in silence for a moment, uncertain of what to say. Finally, Jay managed to speak. "Wow. Can't she take a joke? Who put her on a pedastal?"

Mal shot her friend a fake smile, placing her hand on her hip. Her tone was high-pitched and dripped with sarcasm. "It's only because she's the Evil Queens daughter!" She made her voice go back to normal. "Just be thankful you don't have to share a room with her."

"You know, I didn't think too much of it at the time, but she _was_ pretty mean to Jane the other day. I don't understand it," Carlos interjected.

"I don't, either," Mal said softly. "I don't know what to do."

Mal and Jay walked in silence toward the cafeteria. Carlos stayed behind to change out of his costume, agreeing to see them in a few minutes.

Mal stood in line to get her lunch tray, though she was far from hungry. She felt her stomach twist into knots as she watched Evie continue to flirt with Chad from a distance. She didn't want to watch, but it was kind of like a train-wreck; very unappealing to see, yet she was unable to turn away from it.

Everyone at the table was particularly quiet that day. Ben was the only one who even remotely attempted to make conversation, but it was basically for naught. Carlos, Jay, and his girlfriend gave only half-hearted responses.

Mal felt her temperature rise in anger as she spotted Chad making his way toward their table. _He can't be serious right now. How dare he,_ she fumed internally, already bracing herself to bite her tongue.

Chad threw down three huge textbooks in front of Carlos with a loud thud, slapping him on the shoulder. 'Thanks again, DeVille. You've really had my back the past few days."

Carlos shoved the books back in his direction, looking at him with a mixture of disgust and confusion. "I'm not doing your homework."

Chad stared at him without blinking, his expression aghast. "What do you mean?"

Carlos stared back at him. "Just what I said. _I'm_. _not_. _doing_. _it_."

"But you have to!" Chad proclaimed, panicked now. "I have a huge project due tomorrow and it's worth, like, twenty percent of my grade. If I don't pass the class, I'll get kicked off the tourney team. Is it the money? I can give you more."

"First of all, not my problem. Second of all, what money? You haven't given me the first cent."

"Uh, Carlos, Chad's been paying you to do his homework for the majority of the week. Where have you been?" Mal joked, knocking him upside the head playfully.

"Ha-ha. Very funny, Mal. Trying to make me think I'm crazy," he commented, playfully slapping her in return.

"What? I'm not trying to..." Mal stared at him blankly for a second, then shrugged. He was acting weird, but that wasn't necessarily unusual. _He's such a jokester. One of the many reasons why you gotta love him_ , she thought with a roll of her eyes.

At this point, Chad was particularly impatient. He didn't have time for small talk. He begrudgingly snatched the books off the table and headed back to his own table to start his homework.

"I'm proud of you for saying no, Carlos. It's the right thing to do. I'm glad you've seen the error of your ways," Mal went on, giving him an awarding smack on his shoulder.

"Yeah, sure, Mal. Whatever you say. I have to go. I'm meeting Jane for dress rehearsal. I'll see you guys at the play tonight."

"Break a leg!" Jay shouted, cupping his hands over his mouth as his friend walked away. "But not both of them. That wouldn't be good!"

Mal chortled at Jay's remark as she stood up and pulled her chair back. "I have tons of homework myself. I've got to get it done before the play. See you both later tonight," she commented as Ben and Jay waved goodbye.

Mal stretched out across her bed, her Remedial Goodness textbook out in front of her. She tried to focus on the chapter questions she was supposed to be answering, but her mind kept wandering.

 _Kudos to Carlos for finally standing up to Chad. Kind of wish he had done it sooner, and I don't know why he ended up agreeing to in the first place, but better late than never, I guess. So silly of him to pretend that he didn't remember doing it. Wouldn't it be freaky if he actually_ _ **didn't**_ _remember? It basically would've been like he was under..._

Mal looked up from her textbook with saucer wide eyes, her heart rate increasing. Her brain was officially in overdrive. _Under a spell. My spellbook._

In that moment, she had a pretty good idea of what was going on. She hoped she did at the very least, and she was going to get to the bottom of it. She slammed her textbook shut and raced back to the cafeteria, scanning for their table where Ben and Jay were fortunately still sitting.

"Guys, I don't know why," Mal began, trying to catch her breath, "but I have a strange feeling that Chad may have stolen my spellbook. That could be what's wrong with Evie. He wants revenge for us not doing his homework, so he put her under some kind of spell."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Ben stated, his expression turning shocked. "Mal, are you sure about this?"

Jay turned to Mal, each of them knowing what the other was thinking without saying a single word. The gaze of both sets of eyes darted across the room in Chad's direction simultaniously. "Only one way to find out," he muttered, cracking his knuckles as he stood up.

They both marched up to Chad, Jay giving him the sweetest fake smile he could manage as he approached the table. "A moment of your time, please."

Chad was scrawliing furiously across his notebook. "Can't. I'm busy," he stated, not even looking up.

 _"Now,"_ Jay commanded, grabbing him by the ear.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow," Chad chanted, closing his eyes the whole way as Jay led him out into the hall with Mal in tow.

"Did you take my spellbook?" Mal demanded.

Chad scoffed. "No."

Jay jerked on Chad's arm, twisting it behind him. "OW, OW! OKAY! YES!"

"I knew it. WHAT DID YOU DO TO EVIE?!"

"Nothing," Chad stated innocently.

Jay shoved Chad up against the locker, and the expression on his face turned terrified. "I REALLY DIDN'T!"

Jay backed up a couple of inches, examining his expression. "Mal, I think he might be telling the truth."

Mal eyed Chad suspiciously. "Alright, fine. What were you doing with my spellbook then?"

"I needed a persuasion potion to get someone to do my homework. I gave it to Carlos."

"Okay," Mal stated slowly, squinting in thought. "That explains Carlos' behavior but it still doesn't explain Evie's."

"All I know is the girl has been all over me lately," Chad stated smugly, popping his collar with a smirk. "But you know, I don't exactly need a spell for that."

"You're so modest." Mal stated in monotone. "You sure you didn't do anything else?"

Chad nodded his head vigorously. "Yes! I'm not as big a jerk as everyone thinks I am, you know. I only needed someone to do my homework. Why? What's she been acting like?"

Mal threw up her hands in frustration. "I don't know. She's just been really mean lately. It's all about her. She's on this major ego trip right now."

Chad's face fell. "Uh-oh."

"What?" Jay questioned slowly, picking up on his panicked state.

"I accidentally made an ego boosting potion before I got to the persuasion potion. You don't think she got ahold of it, do you?"

"Was it in the kitchen?" Mal asked. "Blue plastic glass?"

Chad nodded his head slowly.

The three of them darted to the kitchen, Mal's spellbook in her hand. "Counteractive potion, counteractive potion, counteractive potion..." she chanted, flipping through the book. "Ugh! There's like a hundred ego boosting potions in here. Which one did you use?!"

Chad flipped through the book carefully, trying to find one that rang a bell. "AH-HA! This one!" he cried, slamming his finger down on the page.

"You're sure?"

"Positive," he responded, his tone confident.

Mal scanned the bottom of the page and felt her heart drop. "Well, thanks a lot, Chad," she spoke, her voice shaking with nervousness. "Out of all the ego potions in here you had to mix one that would ruin our lives. It says if we don't give her the counteractive potion by the time she drank it on the fourth day, which is nine o'clock tonight, the effects of the potion become permanent. The person who drinks it becomes so wrapped up in themselves that they forget everyone around them altogether."

 **Hope all of you enjoyed this chapter. Again, I truly want to thank the loyal followers of this story from the bottom of my heart for continuing to read! You'll all get shout outs in the next and final chapter. To any new readers who might read, I thank you as well! Remember, any kind of feedback (review, follow, favorite) is ALWAYS appreciated.**


	9. Leggo My Ego?

Jay grabbed Chad tightly by his shirt collar, wishing the lockers were nearby again. "If Evie ends up forgetting all of us..."

Mal yanked Jay's shoulder, trying to pull him away from Chad. "Whoa, Jay. Calm down. I understand you're upset, but hurting Chad won't fix the problem. Besides, there's plenty of time. All we have to do is make this counteractive potion, find Evie, and make sure she drinks it. Relax."

Jay let go of Chad's shirt collar reluctantly. "Fine," he hissed. "So what do I need to do?"

"You start grabbing the ingredients. I'll handle the mixing."

"Great," Chad said cheerfully, starting to walk away. "Sounds like you two have got this all handled. I'll catch you guys later."

"Oh, no, you don't!" Mal snapped. "Just because I convinced Jay not to bash your head in doesn't mean I'm not angry. This is your fault and you're going to help us."

Chad stopped in his tracks, turning around slowly to look at her.

"You go find Evie," she told him, her voice firm. "Bring her here. By the time you get back the potion should be ready."

Chad rushed out the door. Twenty minutes passed. The counteractive potion had been prepared for about ten of it. Mal started pacing while Jay sat atop of the counter, kicking his foot against it impatiently.

"Where is he?" Mal grumbled. "He should've been back by now!"

A couple of minutes later, a red-faced and breathless Chad burst through the door. "I've been all over the school. I can't find her anywhere."

"You've got to be kidding me," Mal replied, placing her head in her hands. She grabbed the potion off the table. "I'll keep looking. If either of you see her, let me know."

Until this exact moment, Mal hadn't been aware of how huge Auradon Prep actually was. She double checked in the cafeteria, out on the quad, on the tourney field, in the drama room, and in the auditorium. All of them showed no signs of Evie.

Mal entered the library and let out a sigh of relief, spying the blue-haired girl sitting at a table, studying. Now that she had found her, she wasn't exactly sure how to approach her.

Evie peered up at Mal but said nothing. Several beats of awkward silence ensued.

Finally, Mal spoke up. "Hi."

"Hi"

"How's it going?'

Evie slammed her pencil on the desk, looking at Mal in disbelief. "Didn't I tell you not to talk to me?"

"Yeah, you did. Slight problem with that. It's kind of really important that you drink this," Mal informed her, holding out a red plastic cup.

Evie peered into the cup, sniffing the liquid. "Ew. No. It smells like strawberries. I hate strawberries."

Mal closed her eyes and grit her teeth, then opened them again, doing her best to smile. "Okay, I'm going to let that one slide because you've never actually eaten a strawberry. I've been trying to get you to for weeks, but nooo! Ms. Narrow Minded is opposed to any fruit other than an apple. Second of all, even if you didn't like strawberries, you're wrong. Just wrong." Mal let out a sudden huff, realizing how much time she was wasting. "Look, this is not a time to argue with me. I don't care what fruit it smells like. Drink this!"

"I'm not drinking it," Evie replied, her tone laced with stubborness. "Besides, I have to go get ready for the play. I didn't get the part of Desdemona so I have to manage to save it with my Emilia skills somehow."

She pushed past Mal as the purple-headed girl watched her leave. Mal glanced at the clock on the wall and groaned in frustration, not realizing how late it had gotten. She had to get ready to go to the play herself. She still hadn't gotten Evie to drink the counteractive potion, and on top of that, it didn't seem like it was going to be as easy as she had hoped. Her nerves were frazzled.

 _It's okay. There's still time. Go get ready for the play and you can try again during intermission._

After rushing to get ready and heading to the auditorium, an out of breath Jay rushed up to Mal immediately. "I couldn't find Evie anywhere," he informed her in disbelief. "Did you?"

"I did."

He let out a breath of relief. "Good! So she drank the potion? Her ego is in check now?"

Mal's forehead creased as she gave him an apologetic smile. "Not exactly."

"Great."

"Don't worry," she continued, pointing to the potion. "I've still got the drink and I'm going to try again during intermission. It might take some convincing, though. She flat out refused earlier."

Jay gave her a half-hearted smile. "Sounds like we might need another persuasion potion."

"Believe me, if we can get through this, I've learned my lesson. I'm keeping an eye on my spellbook at all times."

The two took their seats in the crowded auditorium as the lights dimmed. Mal tried to focus on the play, and at certain points, she did. Enough to notice that Jane was doing a fantastic job at the very least. But for the most part, her mind kept wandering to Evie and how she could get her to chug down the strawberry smelling liquid.

Finally, the first act ended. The lights went up. The curtain came down. Intermission time.

Mal hopped out of her seat quickly, rushing backstage. It was a quarter to nine.

It took a few minutes to find her, but Mal let out a breath of relief once she did, a smile following it. The smile was short lived once she noticed her friend had Jane's costume for the third act in her hands and a pair of scissors in the other. "Evie, what are you doing?"

"I'm about to tear this costume to shreds. She'll get through the next act just fine, but in order to do the third, Jane will have to go out there completely naked."

Mal's eyes widened in horror. "E, please don't do this. You'll completely humiliate her! Don't you care about how hard she's worked?"

"No, if I'm being honest, I don't. Want to know why? Because for the last time, I'm the one who should be Desdemona right now. Everyone was dissing my costumes, anyway. You should be happy to see it destroyed."

Jay, Ben, and Doug appeared, watching the entire scenario from a distance.

"Evie, you're not being yourself right now. I know you don't understand it, but I promise, everything will be fine if you just drink this," Mal pressed, holding out the potion.

Evie's eyes glowed with fire, throwing down the scissors and tossing her costume to the side. "FINE," she yelled. "If it will make you feel better, I'll drink your stupid drink." She snatched the cup out of Mal's hands and gulped the drink down, thrusting it back in her direction once it was gone. "Happy now?"

Mal checked her watch. It was one minute after nine. "Feel any different?"

Evie scoffed, snarling at Mal. "No. Why should I? It was just a drink."

"Consider it a gift from a good friend," Mal informed her, waiting for the potion to take effect.

Evie stared at her blankly. "We are so not friends. I don't even know your name."

Ben swallowed hard and walked up to Mal, touching her on the shoulder gently. "It's too late," he whispered.

"NO!" Mal shrieked, pushing his hand off her shoulder. "IT CAN'T BE! E, don't you remember me? We are friends. Best friends. You, me, Carlos, and Jay."

Evie rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. I don't have friends. I'm my own best friend. As a matter of fact, I'm the only best friend I'll ever need."

Mal choked out a sob, hot tears rapidly streaming down her face. Jay merely looked at her sympathetically as tears started to well up in Doug's own eyes.

Mal sucked in a deep breath, filled with a determination she'd never felt before. Staring at the blue haired girl with an intense look her eye, Mal's own eyes started glowing green _. Come on, Evie. Remember._

Mal started to think a series of thoughts and pictures of memories in her mind. She never let her gaze leave her best friends' eyes. With each passing second, the intense green in Mal's eyes glowed brighter and brighter.

 _My first date with Ben...it was the first time I ever let you put makeup on me when you'd been dying to forever. You were ridiculously excited. Until then, I'd never even thought of myself as pretty. Remember how you felt when you got that B+ on that chemistry test by yourself? The warm feeling you got when Doug stood up for you that day? Remember your first date with him and how excited you were? You couldn't stop gushing about how happy he made you. I should know. We were awake until three AM that morning talking about it. Who's going to laugh at Jay's dumb jokes even when they're not funny? When winter rolls around, who's going to care enough that Dude will be freezing and make him a doggie sweater with the latest seasonal style? Who's going to put me in check when I'm failing at this whole being good thing and let me know when I'm being too mean to Audrey? Come on, E. Please. We need you. We_ _ **all**_ _need you._

Suddenly, Evie's chocolate brown eyes started to shimmer with their own intense glow. Her body let out a few light shakes, then started to go limp. Doug rushed up to her, catching her before she hit the ground.

They sat there together in silence for several seconds, letting Evie regain her composure.

"W-w-what happened?" she stammered, clutching her head. "Ugh, my head hurts."

"You were under a spell. You accidentally drank an ego boosting potion, but I think you're okay now," Doug whispered, brushing a strand of her dark blue hair away from her eyes.

A memory of her comment about Mal's art piece flashed through her mind and a guilty expression washed over her face. "I was really mean to you, wasn't I? To be honest, I don't remember too much after that. All I remember is looking at the art work and knowing deep down I could create something better."

"Yeah," Mal stated quietly. "The potion definitely ended up having an effect on you. You challenged Jay to tourney and everything."

Evie's eyed widened as she jumped up, letting out a sound between a gasp and a horrified squeak. "YOU LET ME PLAY TOURNEY?!" she screamed, pounding Jay in his upper arm repeatedly. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? I could have broken a nail!"

"Oh, yeah, she's definitely back," Ben laughed, wrapping his arms around Mal, who let out a sigh of both content and relief.

Evie turned to Doug next, her expression guilty all over again. She had no clue what she had said or done, but it didn't matter. Knowing that she had hurt him made her stomach churn. "I'm sorry," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"It's okay," he whispered back, wrapping his arms around her waist as he pulled her close, giving her a big smile. "It wasn't your fault."

"I hate to break up this tender yet sickening moment, guys..." Jay began, placing his fingers on his chin, "but intermission is about over."

"How's Jane doing?" Evie asked in concern.

"Really great," Mal assured her. "I don't know if she feels the same way, but it's true. I'd better take my seat. Good luck! You'll kill the rest of the show."

"Thanks," Evie stated genuinely, wrapping her friend in a warm hug. "Hey, M?" she called as the purple-haired girl started to walk away.

Mal turned around quickly. "Yeah?"

Evie shot her a sincere smile. "Thanks for always having my back and seeing me for who I really am. I don't know what I would've done tonight without you."

Mal smiled back and gave her a quick wave.

Now that Mal could focus as she watched the rest of the play, she noticed that Jane was doing even better than she'd thought before, if that were possible. Her acting was so realistic, her final scene with Othello and her death brought a tear to even Jay's eye.

As Jane and Carlos took their final bows, the crowd let out a mass of cheers, applause, and extremely loud whistles.

While everyone began exiting out of the auditiorium, Jane ran out from backstage, beaming from ear to ear.

"You were fantastic," Audrey squealed in delight, grabbing her by the hand and giving it a light squeeze. "I knew you could do it!"

Ben and Jay let out a courteous bow in front of her, each of them holding a bouquet of flowers in their hand. "For the greatest Desdemona we know," they stated in unison.

Jane took the flowers delicately, her eyes lighting up in surprise. "Aw, you guys! That is so sweet of you both. Thank you so much."

"What about me?" Carlos called out with a pout as he appeared from backstage.

"You were great," Jay pointed out, nodding enthusiastically. "I really wanted to punch you in the face."

"Um, thanks... I think."

"You were great, too, Evie." Jane told her timidly.

She smiled. "Thank you, Jane. That means a lot. And I'm sorry I was so mean to you. You really did deserve the role."

"Yeah, what was up with that, anyway?" Carlos questioned.

"Long story. Let's just say my ego had me out of it the past few days."

"And that my spellbook is no longer to be left out in the open," Mal added.

Carlos looked at Evie, attempting to connect the dots. "You were under a spell?"

"So were you, Carlos," Mal pointed out. "Chad made a persuasion potion to get you to do his homework. When he did, he accidentally make an ego boosting potion, which Evie ended up drinking."

"Ego boosting potion, huh?" Jane questioned, glancing in the direction of Mal's spellbook. "Maybe I should drink one of those before my next play."

"NO!" everyone cried in unison as they burst into laughter.

"Trust me, Jane." Evie stated, placing an arm over her shoulder. "Staying true to yourself is the best way to go. No potions or spells needed. I should know because I do and I'm the greatest."

 **The End.**

 **Wow, guys! That's really it. Hopefully I wrapped up the story to your satisfaction! It was an absolute pleasure to write.**

 **To my reviewers: gez lutz merrygold, houseofanubislover89, ember411, purplefairy672, decembra1998, dancergymnast2003, Maya Phantom, psychology nerd, mystery girl, supergirl1623, sonofyaoi, and several very special anonymous reviewers (you know who you are!) I appreciate your comments so very much!**

 **To those who favorited and followed, I thank you immensely! Lastly, to every single one who has loyally followed this story from the beginning or even is a little late to the party, you honestly have no idea how much I appreciate it. I'm glad all of you seemed to enjoy it. Hopefully I have some more works for you in the future. Keep an eye out! ;)**


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